Rescuing a victim who has fallen through ice presents many challenges to a would-be rescuer. For example, often the victim is beyond reach of a person standing at an edge of the ice. In such a case, an attempt may be made to throw a rescue aid, such as a rope or a life ring attached to a rope, to the victim. For this rescue technique to be effective, not only must the victim be within reach of the rope, but additionally the rescue aid must be thrown accurately to the victim. Often, both of these criteria are not met.
When the victim is beyond reach of the rope, the rescue aid or a rescuer must be brought onto the ice toward the victim. If the rescuer merely ventures onto the ice through which the victim has fallen, the rescuer may also likely fall through the ice—thereby becoming an additional victim in need of rescue. In addition, in some circumstances the rescuer may have to traverse land, snow, water, broken ice and water, ice, or any combination thereof, to reach the victim.
Attempts have been made to make crafts to bring a rescuer onto the ice toward a victim who has fallen through the ice. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,153 (the '153 patent) discloses a rescue vehicle that has a buoyant hollow sled pulled behind a traction wheel that includes a plastic, buoyant, rotating drum. The drum has a number of fins to propel the vehicle in water. Mounted to the fins are three annular rings having tangs for traction on ice. An internal combustion engine provides power to turn the drum via two gear belt drives on each side of the drum. Handle bars are used to steer the vehicle, and a throttle control, similar to those used on motorcycles, provides the rescuer with a means to control the engine and vehicle speed.
Unfortunately, the sled of the '153 patent is too small to accommodate both the rescuer and the victim. Thus, the rescuer must lay prone with legs extending past a rear end of the sled while operating the rescue vehicle. This could subject the rescuer to undue danger if the rescue vehicle must be operated over land. Further, the internal combustion engine is very heavy. Therefore, probability is increased of breaking up ice by the rescue vehicle itself. If this were to happen, then the legs of the rescuer would be immersed in a combination of broken ice and frigid water. Moreover, the internal combustion engine requires heavy gearing to reduce rotation of the drum to speeds slow enough to be usable in water and on ice. This additional weight of the heavy gearing further increases probability of the rescue craft breaking up the ice.
As a result, there is an unmet need in the art for a rescue vehicle that is lightweight, easily transportable, compact, and provides a platform that protects both the rescuer and the victim from ice and water.